Editing RV Belgica (1884)

{{Short description|Research ship built in 1884}}
{{redirect|SS Belgica (1884)|other ships|RV Belgica|and|SS Belgica}}
{| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image               = La Belgica 1898 (cropped).jpg
| Ship caption             = ''Belgica'' trapped in the ice, 1898
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header              = 
| Ship country             = 
| Ship flag                = 
| Ship name                =*''Patria'' (1884–96)
*''Belgica'' (1896–1916)
*''Isfjord'' (1916–1917)
*''Belgica'' (1917–1940)
| Ship owner               =*Johan Christian Jakobsen (1884–96)
*Adrien de Gerlache (1896–1902)
*N C Halvorsen (1902)
*Prince Philippe, Duke of Orléans (1902–1916)
*Det Norske Kulsyndikat (1916–1917)
*Kristian Holst (1917–1940)
*Franco-British Expeditionary Force (1940)
| Ship operator            =*Johan Christian Jakobsen (1884–1896)
*Adrien de Gerlache (1896–1897)
*Belgian Antarctic Expedition (1897–1899)
*Adrien de Gerlache (1899–1902)
*N C Halvorsen (1902)
*Prince Philippe, Duke of Orléans (1902–1916)
*Det Norske Kulsyndikat (1916–1917)
*Kristian Holst (1917–1940)
*Franco-British Expeditionary Force (1940)
| Ship builder             = Christian Brinch Jørgensen
| Ship original cost       = 
| Ship laid down           = 
| Ship launched            = 1884
| Ship acquired            = 
| Ship commissioned        = 
| Ship decommissioned      = 
| Ship registry            =*{{flagicon|Norway|1844}} Svelvik (1884–1896)
*{{flagicon|Belgium}} Antwerp (1896–1916)
*{{flagicon|Norway}} Spitsbergen (1916–1917)
*{{flagicon|Norway}} Harstad (1917–1940)
| Ship in service          = 
| Ship out of service      = 19 May 1940
| Ship identification      = 
| Ship struck              = 
| Ship reinstated          = 
| Ship honours             = 
| Ship captured            = 
| Ship fate                = Scuttled June 1940
| Ship notes               = 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header              = 
| Header caption           = 
| Ship type               =*Whaler (1884–1896)
*Research ship (1896–1901)
*Whaler (1901–1904)
*Research ship (1904–1909)
*Whaler (1909–1918)
*Factory ship (1918–1940)
*Depôt ship (1940)
| Ship tonnage             = {{GRT|263}}
| Ship length              = {{convert|35.97|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
| Ship beam                = {{convert|7.62|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
| Ship draught             = {{convert|4.11|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
| Ship depth               = 
| Ship hold depth          = 
| Ship propulsion          = Sails, steam engine
| Ship sail plan           = Barque (1884–1918)
| Ship complement          = 23 (Belgian Antarctic Expedition)
| Ship armament            = 
| Ship notes               = 
}}
|}

'''''Belgica''''' was a [[barque]]-rigged [[steamship]] that was built in 1884 by Christian Brinch Jørgensen at [[Svelvik]], Norway as the [[whaler]] '''''Patria'''''. In 1896, she was purchased by [[Adrien de Gerlache]] for conversion to a [[research ship]], taking part in the [[Belgian Antarctic Expedition]] of 1897–1901, becoming the first ship to overwinter in the Antarctic. In 1902, she was sold to [[Prince Philippe, Duke of Orléans (1869–1926)|Philippe, Duke of Orléans]] and used on expeditions to the Arctic in 1905 and from 1907 to 1909.

In 1916, she was sold and converted to a passenger and cargo ship, serving [[Spitsbergen]] from the Norwegian mainland under the name '''''Isfjord'''''. In 1918, she was sold and renamed ''Belgica'', being converted to a [[factory ship]]. Requisitioned by the British in April 1940, she was used as a depôt ship, being scuttled when the Franco-British Expeditionary Force evacuated [[Harstad]] in northern Norway. In 2007, plans to build a modern replica of ''Belgica'' were announced.

== Description ==
The ship was {{convert|35.97|m|ftin}} long, with a beam of {{convert|7.62|m|ftin}} and a draught of {{convert|4.11|m|ftin}}. She was rigged as a [[barque]].<ref name=Wreck>{{cite web|url=http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?13473 |title=Belgica (ex-Patria) (+1940) |publisher=Wrecksite |access-date=5 October 2010}}</ref> As well as sails, the ship was propelled by a {{convert|35|hp|kW|adj=on}} [[steam engine]] built by Nylands Verksted, [[Oslo]].<ref name=Rundt/> The engine drove a screw propeller that was arranged so that it could be raised out of the water if necessary.<ref name=Patria/>

== History ==

=== Early history ===
''Patria'' was built by Christian Brinch Jørgensen at [[Svelvik]], [[Norway]],<ref name=Rundt>{{cite web |url=http://www.rundtomdrammen.no/html/belgica.html |title=Belgica |language=no |access-date=5 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724183311/http://www.rundtomdrammen.no/html/belgica.html |archive-date=24 July 2011 }}</ref> as a [[whaler]].<ref name=Circle>{{cite web|url=http://www.antarctic-circle.org/ships.htm |title=ANTARCTIC SHIPS |publisher=Antarctic Circle |access-date=5 October 2010}}</ref> The ship was constructed of [[pine]], American pine and [[oak]] ribs, with {{convert|110|mm|in}} thick [[Chlorocardium|greenheart]] planks clad in oak and sheeted in [[iron]]. The ship had a strengthened bow to enable her to operate in ice.<ref name=Patria>{{cite web|url=http://www.belgica-genootschap.be/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=27&Itemid=17 |title=Technische fiche |publisher=Belgica Genootschap VZW |language=nl |access-date=5 October 2010}}</ref>  Her designer and owner was Johan Christian Jakobsen.<ref name=Wreck/>

=== Antarctic expedition ===
[[File:Belgica1web.jpg|thumb|''Belgica'' in Antarctic waters]]
{{Main | Belgian Antarctic Expedition}}
In 1896, ''Patria'' was bought by [[Adrien de Gerlache]] for conversion to a [[research ship]].<ref name=Circle/> On 4 July 1896, she was renamed ''Belgica''. A [[21-gun salute]] was fired during the renaming ceremony.<ref name=Model>{{cite web |url=http://www.gianhien.net/retail/all/belgica.htm |title=BELGICA |publisher=Gia Nhien & Co |access-date=5 October 2010 |archive-date=24 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124064900/http://gianhien.net/retail/all/belgica.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>  De Gerlache raised funds for the expedition from the [[Société Royale Belge de Géographie]]. Loaded with 40 tons of food in 10,000 tins, on 16 August 1897, ''Belgica'' departed [[Antwerp]], [[Belgium]] for the [[Antarctic]],<ref name=Model/> with a crew of 23.<ref name=Lewis/> Led by de Gerlache, the expedition included [[Georges Lecointe (explorer)|Georges Lecointe]] as captain of ''Belgica''. Other members of the expedition included [[Roald Amundsen]], [[Henryk Arctowski]], [[Antoni Bolesław Dobrowolski|Antoni Dobrowolski]] and [[Emil Racoviţă]].<ref name=Cool/> The overloaded ''Belgica'' broke down in the [[North Sea]] and was forced to put into [[Ostend]] for repairs.<ref name=Model/> Two crewmen deserted there and two more crewmen went ashore without permission, returning to ''Belgica'' drunk.<ref name=Cool>{{cite web |url=http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/History/antarctic_whos_who_belgica.htm |title=Adrien de Gerlache, Belgica, Belgian Antarctic Expedition 1897 – 1899 |publisher=Cool Antarctica |access-date=5 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101009092129/http://coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/History/antarctic_whos_who_belgica.htm |archive-date=9 October 2010 }}</ref>

At one point, ''Belgica'' almost rammed the Belgian [[royal yacht]].<ref name=Cool/> [[Rio de Janeiro]], [[Brazil]] was reached on 6 October 1897. [[Frederick Cook]] joined the ship there.<ref name=Model/> On reaching [[Montevideo]], [[Uruguay]], the cook was fired and a [[Sweden|Swedish]] replacement was hired. On the voyage between Montevideo and [[Punta Arenas]], [[Chile]], the engineer allowed the boiler to run dry. He was dismissed when the ship reached Punta Arenas,<ref name=Cool/> which was on 1 December 1897.<ref name=Model/> Further disciplinary problems at Punta Arenas resulted in the [[Chilean Navy]] being asked to intervene. The Swedish cook and three Belgian sailors were dismissed, and ''Belgica'' departed for the Antarctic somewhat undermanned.<ref name=Cool/>

Sailor Carl Wiencke was lost overboard en route to Antarctica, [[Wiencke Island]] being named in his honour.<ref name=Cool/> ''Belgica'' crossed the [[Antarctic Circle]] on 15 February 1898.<ref name=Circle/> On 3 March, ''Belgica'' became wedged in the [[pack ice]]. The crew had not prepared for overwintering in Antarctica well. De Gerlache forbade the crew to eat the [[penguin]] and [[seal meat]] that had been stockpiled because he hated eating it. As a result, [[scurvy]] became a problem on board ''Belgica''. Following the death of magnetician Emile Danco on 5 June 1898, the situation worsened.<ref name=Cool/> Morale worsened after the death of [[Nansen (cat)|Nansen]], the [[ship's cat]], on 22 June.<ref name=Lewis>{{cite book |title=Ship's Cats in War and Peace |last=Lewis |first=Val |year=2002 |publisher=Nauticalia Ltd |location=Shepperton |isbn=0-9530458-1-1|pages=59–60}}</ref>

By 22 July, command of the ship was taken by Amundsen and Cook, as de Gerlache and Lecointe were too ill. Cook insisted that the men ate the penguin and seal meat, following which the crew rapidly recovered from the scurvy. The prospect of a second winter in Antarctica spurred the crew on in their efforts to free ''Belgica''. On 14 February 1899, ''Belgica'' was finally freed from the ice, although it was another month before she was able to set sail for Punta Arenas, where she arrived on 28 March.<ref name=Cool/> ''Belgica'' was repaired in Punta Arenas, then sailed for [[Buenos Aires]], Argentina. Leaving Buenos Aires on 14 August 1899, she sailed for home, arriving at [[Boulogne-sur-Mer]] on 30 October and Antwerp on 5 November, sparking national celebrations in Belgium.<ref name=Model/>  Following her return to Belgium in 1901, ''Belgica'' was again used for whaling.<ref name=Wreck/>

=== Arctic expeditions ===
[[File:Yasmina - Belgica.JPG|thumb|Belgica, painting (2012) by the Belgian painter Yasmina]]
in 1901, ''Belgica'' was chartered as a supply vessel for the [[Baldwin-Ziegler Polar Expedition]]. Captain [[Johan Bryde]] was to lay supply caches in northeastern Greenland, where the expedition hoped to return from the pole. On [[Shannon Island]] and [[Bass Rock (Greenland)|Bass Rock]], Bryde erected prefabricated houses made by Swedish company {{ill|F O Peterson|sv|F O Peterson & Söner}} and stocked them with coal, tins of food, kayaks, balloons and a hydrogen generator.<ref>{{cite book | last = Capelotti | first = Peter Joseph | year = 2016 | title = The greatest show in the Arctic: the American exploration of Franz Josef Land, 1898-1905 | publisher = University of Oklahoma Press | isbn = 978-0-8061-5222-6 | pages = 249–251}}</ref>

In 1902, ''Belgica'' was sold to N C Halvorsen,<ref name=Cool/> and then later that year to [[Prince Philippe, Duke of Orléans (1869–1926)|Philippe, Duke of Orléans]].<ref name=BelgeAG>{{cite web |url=http://www.belgischekoopvaardij.net/belgian%20merchant%20A-G%2023.5.04.pdf |title=Belgian Merchant A-G |publisher=Belgische Koopvaardij |access-date=5 October 2010 }}{{dead link|date=April 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In 1905, she was used in an expedition to chart the north east coast of [[Greenland]],<ref name=Belgica/> [[Svalbard]] and [[Franz Josef Land]],<ref name=Norge/> de Gerlache again being involved. In 1907–09, ''Belgica'' was used in an expedition to the Arctic, again headed by Philippe and captained by de Gerlache.<ref name=Belgica>{{cite web|url=http://www.belgica-genootschap.be/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10&Itemid=19 |title=Expedities |publisher=Belgica Genootschap VZW |language=nl |access-date=5 October 2010}}</ref> It was planned to map Arctic Russia, but these plans were abandoned when ''Belgica'' again became trapped in ice.<ref name=Norge/>

=== Later history ===
In 1916, ''Belgica'' was sold to the Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompagni, [[Spitsbergen]] and was renamed ''Isfjord''.<ref name=BelgeAG/> She was rebuilt to include cabins for female staff. ''Isfjord'' was used to carry [[coal]] and passengers between Svalbard and northern Norway.<ref name=Patria/>

In 1918, ''Isfjord'' was sold to Kristian Holst, [[Harstad]].<ref name=Norge>{{cite web |url=http://www.newsinenglish.no/News/belgica.html |title=Sunken polar ship emerges from the depths |publisher=Views and News from Norway |date=20 August 2009 |access-date=5 October 2010 }}{{dead link|date=April 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> She was stripped of her bowsprit, dismasted and converted to a factory ship,<ref name=Patria/> regaining her former name ''Belgica''.<ref name=Norge/> From the late 1930s, ''Belgica'' was used as a [[hulk (ship)|coal hulk]].<ref name=Patria/> In April 1940, ''Belgica'' was requisitioned by the [[Allied campaign in Norway|Franco-British Expeditionary Force]] for use as a depôt ship storing high explosives.<ref name=BelgeAG/> ''Belgica'' was scuttled when the Franco-British Expeditionary Force evacuated from Harstad.<ref name=BelgeAG/> The Allied evacuation of Harstad took place on 7 and 8 June 1940, and several British ships were also scuttled in order to avoid having them fall into German hands.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4006-19JUN01.htm |title=Naval Events, June 1940, Part 1 of 4 Saturday 1st – Friday 7th |access-date=25 November 2010 |last=Kindell |first=Don |work=Naval-History.net }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4006-19JUN02.htm |title=Naval Events, June 1940, Part 2 of 4 Saturday 8th – Friday 14th |access-date=25 November 2010 |last=Kindell |first=Don |work=Naval-History.net }}</ref> The wreck of ''Belgica'' was discovered on [[Easter]], 1990.<ref name=Rundt/> ''Belgica''{{'}}s anchor is an exhibit in the Polar Museum, [[Tromsø]], Norway.<ref name=Model/> The [[Sør-Troms Museum]] in Harstad plans to hold an exhibition of artefacts retrieved from ''Belgica''.<ref name=Norge/>

== Replica ==
In 2006, the [[vereniging zonder winstoogmerk|VZW]] ''New Belgica'' was formed with the intention of constructing a [[New Belgica (barque)|replica of ''Belgica'']]. The project was officially launched on 9 September 2007 at De Steenschuit's yard in [[Boom, Antwerp]] by [[Kris Peeters]], [[Minister-President of Flanders|Minister-President]] of the Belgian region of Flanders.<ref name=Replica/> [[Queen Paola of Belgium|Queen Paola]] was the project's patron.<ref name=Norge/> Construction was scheduled for completion in 2013.<ref name=Replica>{{cite web |url=http://www.steenschuit.be/steenschuit_overzicht/belgica_project_english_sum.html |title=The New Belgica |publisher=Steenschuit |access-date=5 October 2010 |archive-date=19 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100819031630/http://www.steenschuit.be/steenschuit_overzicht/belgica_project_english_sum.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

It is planned to raise the wreck of ''Belgica'' and to put it on display at the Belgian National Maritime Museum, Antwerp. Before the wreck is raised, the [[Royal Norwegian Navy]] will remove the remaining ammunition.<ref name=Replica/>

== Tributes ==
A {{convert|425|km|mi|sp=us|abbr=on|adj=mid|-long}} scarp on [[Mercury (planet)|Mercury]] has been named ''[[Belgica Rupes]]'' by the [[International Astronomical Union]] based on a suggestion by the [[MESSENGER]] team.<ref>{{cite web|title=Belgica Rupes|url=http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/15128|work=Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature |publisher=USGS|access-date=2013-12-05}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of Antarctic exploration ships from the Heroic Age, 1897–1922]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Belgica (ship, 1884)}}
* [http://www.rundtomdrammen.no/assets/images/Patria.JPG Photograph of ''Patria'']
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100817031009/http://www.belgica-dereplica.be/ VZW New Belgica]

{{Polar exploration|state=collapsed}}
{{May 1940 shipwrecks}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|68|47|42|N|16|35|37|E|source:nlwiki_type:landmark_region:NO|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belgica}}
[[Category:1884 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built in Norway]]
[[Category:Barques]]
[[Category:Whaling ships]]
[[Category:Merchant ships of Belgium]]
[[Category:Research vessels of Belgium]]
[[Category:Antarctic expeditions]]
[[Category:Arctic exploration vessels]]
[[Category:World War I merchant ships of Belgium]]
[[Category:World War I merchant ships of Norway]]
[[Category:World War II merchant ships of Norway]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in May 1940]]
[[Category:Ships sunk with no fatalities]]
[[Category:Belgian Antarctic Expedition]]